Does Mormon fasting reduce heart attack deaths?

People of faith have long known that fasting can be good for the soul.

Now Intermountain Medical Center researchers are launching a study to determine whether a weekly water-only fast can also be good for the body.

Benjamin Horne, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Heart Institute at IMC, says his working hypothesis is that such fasts can reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Such benefits have shown up in three previous studies at the Murray-based institute.